"Prison Folk" Panel Discussion

Thursday, November 3, 20167-9 p.m.Free and open to the public

Panelists, including co-organizer of the Prison and Neighborhood Arts Project Sarah Ross and artists Jonathon Romain and Marvin Tate, will discuss the socio-cultural impact of prison art as well as the lives of artists who have formerly served or are currently serving their sentence.

Sarah Ross is an artist who works in sculpture, video and photo. Her projects use narrative and the body to address spatial concerns as they relate to access, class, anxiety and activism. Sarah also works collaboratively with other artists on projects such as Regional Relationships and Chicago Justice Torture Memorials. She is the co-founder of the Prison and Neighborhood Arts Project, an arts and humanities project at Stateville prison and in Chicago neighborhoods. She teaches at The School of the Art Institute Chicago, has co-curated exhibitions at SPACES Gallery, Cleveland, Sea and Space Explorations, Los Angeles, and PS122, New York and is the recipient of grants from the Propeller Fund, Graham Foundation, University of California Institute for Research in the Arts and the Illinois Art Council. Some of her work has been exhibited in venues such as the Armory, Pasadena, CA; Gallery 727, Los Angeles; PS122, New York; Roots and Culture Gallery, Chicago; Pinkard Gallery, Baltimore; META Cultural Foundation, Romania and the Canadian Center for Architecture, Montreal.

Jonathon Romain went from spending seven years of a 15 year prison sentence to selling paintings all over the world. “I have learned throughout the years that my testimony is just as important as my art. I’ve inspired and uplifted people from all walks of life."

Marvin Tate is a performance poet, lyricist, published author, collected visual artist and educator. Tate was recently awarded a grant from the Poetry Foundation to teach poetry in The Statesville Correctional Center(for men), and was selected by The Propeller Fund to revisit his old neighborhood in North-Lawndale, Chicago to produce a series of performances called Public Singing. His recent collaborations with Sound-Artist Joseph C. Mills and Video/Performance Artist, Jefferson Pinder highlight his ability to combine spoken word and performance with other forms of mediums, producing outstanding works of juxtaposition and improvisation.